Tutorial: Microsoft Entra single sign-on integration with Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID (Kerberos-based authentication)

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to integrate Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID with Microsoft Entra ID. When you integrate Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID with Microsoft Entra ID, you can:

• Control in Microsoft Entra ID who has access to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.
• Enable your users to be automatically signed in to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID with their Microsoft Entra accounts.
• Manage your accounts in one central location.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need the following items:

• A Microsoft Entra subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can get a free account.
• Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra single sign-on (SSO) enabled subscription.

Scenario description

In this tutorial, you configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO in a test environment. The tutorial includes these scenarios:

• SP-initiated SSO for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

• Just in time user provisioning for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

• Kerberos-based authentication for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

• Header-based authentication for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

Add Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID from the gallery

To integrate Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID with Microsoft Entra ID, first add Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID to your list of managed SaaS apps from the gallery:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.

2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > New application.

3. In the Add from the gallery section, enter Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID in the search box.

4. In the results, select Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID, and then add the app. Wait a few seconds while the app is added to your tenant.

Alternatively, you can also use the Enterprise App Configuration Wizard. In this wizard, you can add an application to your tenant, add users/groups to the app, assign roles, as well as walk through the SSO configuration as well. Learn more about Microsoft 365 wizards.

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID by using a test user called B.Simon. For SSO to work, you need to establish a link relationship between a Microsoft Entra user and the related user in Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

To configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID, perform the following steps:

1. Configure Microsoft Entra SSO - to enable your users to use this feature.

   1. Create a Microsoft Entra test user - to test Microsoft Entra SSO with B.Simon.

   2. Assign the Microsoft Entra test user - to enable B.Simon to use Microsoft Entra SSO.

2. Configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SSO - to configure the SSO settings on the application side.

   1. Create Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra test user - to have a counterpart of B.Simon in Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID that is linked to the Microsoft Entra representation of the user.

3. Test SSO - to verify whether the configuration works.

Configure Microsoft Entra SSO

To enable Microsoft Entra SSO by using the Azure portal, complete these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.

2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID application integration pane, under Manage, select Single sign-on.

3. On the Select a single sign-on method pane, select SAML.

4. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML pane, select the pencil icon for Basic SAML Configuration to edit the settings.

   

5. In the Basic SAML Configuration section, to configure the application in IDP-initiated mode, perform the following steps:

   1. In the Identifier text box, enter a URL that has the following pattern: https://<YOUR_FQDN>

   2. In the Reply URL text box, enter a URL that has the following pattern: http(s)://<YOUR_FQDN>.of.vserver/cgi/samlauth

6. To configure the application in SP-initiated mode, select Set additional URLs and perform the following step:

   • In the Sign-on URL text box, enter a URL that has the following pattern: https://<YOUR_FQDN>/CitrixAuthService/AuthService.asmx

   Note

   • The URLs that are used in this section aren't real values. Update these values with the actual values for Identifier, Reply URL, and Sign-on URL. Contact the Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra client support team to get these values. You can also refer to the patterns shown in the Basic SAML Configuration section.
   • To set up SSO, the URLs must be accessible from public websites. You must enable the firewall or other security settings on the Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID side to enable Microsoft Entra ID to post the token at the configured URL.

7. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML pane, in the SAML Signing Certificate section, for App Federation Metadata Url, copy the URL and save it in Notepad.

   

8. In the Set up Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID section, copy the relevant URLs based on your requirements.

   

Create a Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you create a test user called B.Simon.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a User Administrator.
2. Browse to Identity > Users > All users.
3. Select New user > Create new user, at the top of the screen.
4. In the User properties, follow these steps:
   1. In the Display name field, enter B.Simon.
   2. In the User principal name field, enter the [email protected]. For example, [email protected].
   3. Select the Show password check box, and then write down the value that's displayed in the Password box.
   4. Select Review + create.
5. Select Create.

Assign the Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you enable the user B.Simon to use Azure SSO by granting the user access to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

1. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications.

2. In the applications list, select Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID.

3. On the app overview, under Manage, select Users and groups.

4. Select Add user. Then, in the Add Assignment dialog box, select Users and groups.

5. In the Users and groups dialog box, select B.Simon from the Users list. Choose Select.

6. If you are expecting a role to be assigned to the users, you can select it from the Select a role dropdown. If no role has been set up for this app, you see "Default Access" role selected.

7. In the Add Assignment dialog box, select Assign.

Configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SSO

Select a link for steps for the kind of authentication you want to configure:

• Configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SSO for Kerberos-based authentication

• Configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SSO for header-based authentication

Publish the web server

To create a virtual server:

1. Select Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Services.

2. Select Add.

   

3. Set the following values for the web server that's running the applications:

   • Service Name
   • Server IP/ Existing Server
   • Protocol
   • Port

Configure the load balancer

To configure the load balancer:

1. Go to Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Virtual Servers.

2. Select Add.

3. Set the following values as described in the following screenshot:

   • Name
   • Protocol
   • IP Address
   • Port

4. Select OK.

   

Bind the virtual server

To bind the load balancer with the virtual server:

1. In the Services and Service Groups pane, select No Load Balancing Virtual Server Service Binding.

   

2. Verify the settings as shown in the following screenshot, and then select Close.

   

Bind the certificate

To publish this service as TLS, bind the server certificate, and then test your application:

1. Under Certificate, select No Server Certificate.

   

2. Verify the settings as shown in the following screenshot, and then select Close.

   

Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SAML profile

To configure the Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SAML profile, complete the following sections.

Create an authentication policy

To create an authentication policy:

1. Go to Security > AAA – Application Traffic > Policies > Authentication > Authentication Policies.

2. Select Add.

3. On the Create Authentication Policy pane, enter or select the following values:

   • Name: Enter a name for your authentication policy.
   • Action: Enter SAML, and then select Add.
   • Expression: Enter true.

   

4. Select Create.

Create an authentication SAML server

To create an authentication SAML server, go to the Create Authentication SAML Server pane, and then complete the following steps:

1. For Name, enter a name for the authentication SAML server.

2. Under Export SAML Metadata:

   1. Select the Import Metadata check box.

   2. Enter the federation metadata URL from the Azure SAML UI that you copied earlier.

3. For Issuer Name, enter the relevant URL.

4. Select Create.

Create an authentication virtual server

To create an authentication virtual server:

1. Go to Security > AAA - Application Traffic > Policies > Authentication > Authentication Virtual Servers.

2. Select Add, and then complete the following steps:

   1. For Name, enter a name for the authentication virtual server.

   2. Select the Non-Addressable check box.

   3. For Protocol, select SSL.

   4. Select OK.

3. Select Continue.

Configure the authentication virtual server to use Microsoft Entra ID

Modify two sections for the authentication virtual server:

1. On the Advanced Authentication Policies pane, select No Authentication Policy.

   

2. On the Policy Binding pane, select the authentication policy, and then select Bind.

   

3. On the Form Based Virtual Servers pane, select No Load Balancing Virtual Server.

   

4. For Authentication FQDN, enter a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) (required).

5. Select the load balancing virtual server that you want to protect with Microsoft Entra authentication.

6. Select Bind.

   

   Note

   Be sure to select Done on the Authentication Virtual Server Configuration pane.

7. To verify your changes, in a browser, go to the application URL. You should see your tenant sign-in page instead of the unauthenticated access that you would have seen previously.

   

Configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra SSO for Kerberos-based authentication

Create a Kerberos delegation account for Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID

1. Create a user account (in this example, we use AppDelegation).

   

2. Set up a HOST SPN for this account.

   Example: setspn -S HOST/AppDelegation.IDENTT.WORK identt\appdelegation

   In this example:

   • IDENTT.WORK is the domain FQDN.
   • identt is the domain NetBIOS name.
   • appdelegation is the delegation user account name.

3. Configure delegation for the web server as shown in the following screenshot:

   

   Note

   In the screenshot example, the internal web server name running the Windows Integrated Authentication (WIA) site is CWEB2.

Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra AAA KCD (Kerberos delegation accounts)

To configure the Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra AAA KCD account:

1. Go to Citrix Gateway > AAA KCD (Kerberos Constrained Delegation) Accounts.

2. Select Add, and then enter or select the following values:

   • Name: Enter a name for the KCD account.

   • Realm: Enter the domain and extension in uppercase.

   • Service SPN: http/<host/fqdn>@<DOMAIN.COM>.

     Note

     @DOMAIN.COM is required and must be uppercase. Example: http/[email protected].

   • Delegated User: Enter the delegated user name.

   • Select the Password for Delegated User check box, and enter and confirm a password.

3. Select OK.

Citrix traffic policy and traffic profile

To configure the Citrix traffic policy and traffic profile:

1. Go to Security > AAA - Application Traffic > Policies > Traffic Policies, Profiles and Form SSO ProfilesTraffic Policies.

2. Select Traffic Profiles.

3. Select Add.

4. To configure a traffic profile, enter or select the following values.

   • Name: Enter a name for the traffic profile.

   • Single Sign-on: Select ON.

   • KCD Account: Select the KCD account you created in the preceding section.

5. Select OK.

   

6. Select Traffic Policy.

7. Select Add.

8. To configure a traffic policy, enter or select the following values:

   • Name: Enter a name for the traffic policy.

   • Profile: Select the traffic profile you created in the preceding section.

   • Expression: Enter true.

9. Select OK.

   

Bind a traffic policy to a virtual server in Citrix

To bind a traffic policy to a virtual server by using the GUI:

1. Go to Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Virtual Servers.

2. In the list of virtual servers, select the virtual server to which you want to bind the rewrite policy, and then select Open.

3. On the Load Balancing Virtual Server pane, under Advanced Settings, select Policies. All policies that are configured for your NetScaler instance appear in the list.

   

   

4. Select the check box next to the name of the policy you want to bind to this virtual server.

   

5. In the Choose Type dialog box:

   1. For Choose Policy, select Traffic.

   2. For Choose Type, select Request.

   

6. When the policy is bound, select Done.

   

7. Test the binding by using the WIA website.

   

Create Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, a user called B.Simon is created in Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID. Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID supports just-in-time user provisioning, which is enabled by default. There is no action for you to take in this section. If a user doesn't already exist in Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID, a new one is created after authentication.

Test SSO

In this section, you test your Microsoft Entra single sign-on configuration with following options.

• Click on Test this application, this will redirect to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra Sign-on URL where you can initiate the login flow.

• Go to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra Sign-on URL directly and initiate the login flow from there.

• You can use Microsoft My Apps. When you click the Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID tile in the My Apps, this will redirect to Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra Sign-on URL. For more information about the My Apps, see Introduction to the My Apps.

Next steps

Once you configure Citrix ADC SAML Connector for Microsoft Entra ID you can enforce session control, which protects exfiltration and infiltration of your organization’s sensitive data in real time. Session control extends from Conditional Access. Learn how to enforce session control with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.